The invention is directed to a method and mask for configurating thin layers, particularly in thin film circuits, wherein a layer to be configurated is irradiated with an electron beam passing through a mask to obtain a configuration corresponding to the configuration of selected portions of such a mask.
In the production of modern sub-miniaturized thin layer elements it is necessary that thin layers, in particular lacquer layers, be extremely finely configurated, with the conduction paths and interspaces of the structure having a width, at least in part of less than 0.5 .mu.. The total area occupied by such a structure is, for example, on the order of 5.5 mm.sup.2.
On pages 1033-1037 of the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, vol. 116 No. 7, July (1969) there is described an example of such type of miniaturized structure and, as illustrated in FIG. 4 of such publication, an electron-sensitive lacquer is recorded upon, i.e. exposed, in accordance with the desired configuration, by means of a sharply focused electron beam. However, this type of recording, by means of a finely focused electron beam, is a relatively time-consuming process.
Another possibility resides in the irradiation of the layer which is to be configurated, generally a lacquer layer, by means of a mask through which a bundle of electron beams are passed. It will be apparent that this process is similar to the exposing of a light sensitive layer to normal light and UV radiation through a mask, for example, such as employed in photolithograhic processes and the like.
In the past, the production of masks required for the electron-optical production of configurated thin layers was a very difficult problem, as the parts of the mask which were to be impermeable to the electron beam, and not connected to one another, necessitated a suitable supporting structure to provide adequate support. However, such supporting structures were not sufficiently permeable to the electron to achieve the desired efficient results.